3049 - You are my sunshine

This is the shortest day of the whole year
A day I like even though it's horrid
And dark, because you know the time's now near
When it'll get lighter again, take heed
Of this change for the better. In your bed
You'll see a slow earlier lightening
Maybe that's not in itself all that good
If that causes earlier awakening
I don't like darkness except for sleeping
Common sense says that's a time to be clear
Of danger and cold, home comforts enjoyed
Maybe it can be warmed with a short fling
Though that's hard for me to do without tears
So useless with people, easily led

2493 - Welcome to life

This is today, as far as now exists
Squeezed in between before and next, so slight
A window of time, a will o' the wisp
A shadow in the middle of the night
Life's a sudden explosion of bright light
Like a supernova in the heavens
Energy in the void, wonderful sight
But surrounded by unseeing atoms
Made up of the same, we evolved persons
No control over anything, subsist
In a random machine, in aimless flight
Channelled by no-one, dependent orphan
Inventing philosophies with a twist
To diminish our existential fright

2475 - Amy, you're driving me crazy

I keep waking up halfway through the night
Why, when it's the darkest time of the year?
I sometimes do this in midsummer's light
When dawn comes early, but why, how now, sir?
I wake from a dream, my mind starts to stir
Last night I kept singing Amy Winehouse
In my head, of course, nothing you could hear
Apart from radio, all quiet as a mouse
TV reception's bad these days, I lose
The chance to watch most channels now, so might
Move to BT Sport, it should be cheaper
Than Sky broadband (with football as bonus)
Let's hope there's an end to my sleepless plight
I hate being tired, it's not clever or fair!

2413 - Dark sky at night - owl's delight

Very tired, was awake most of last night
Thinking about work, and of my options
But today was okay, lessened my plight
A little. Ordered a cake - should be fun
When it's brought in on Boxing Day. Chilluns
Will enjoy that cool candlelit surprise!
Meanwhile, it's a bit chillier - cardigan's
On, as we all wait 'neath the dark'ning skies
For England v Montenegro. Goodbyes
At least in my head must be said tonight
To Everything Everything, live upon
The Ritz stage. Pulled out of going, so's I
Can lounge at home watching football. The whites
Must win or it's curtains for Roy Hodgson

2280 - In the Lapland of the gods

I won't go on again about the cold
It's winter after all, and not Sweden
Or even worse Finland, where I am told
They kill themselves there about of depression
Over the dark and cold far more often
Logical, cos it's worse for that than here
So cold Brits, realise your good fortune
It's not nice to be there this time of year
Unless you fly there to see Santa where
He lives, in Lapland, just south of the pole
In which case, just maybe, that could be fun
Today I hired a car, drove to Yorkshire
Holmfirth, to be precise, where cameras rolled
Last of the Summer Wine, town of old men

2278 - Walk out to winter

It's cold, so cold, winter is finally here
Watch out for icy leaves on the pavement
If I open my door, the cold's severe
The freezing air invades, it's a torment
And going out at night, you almost can't
Yet December's the party month, the cold
Is shut out, body heat builds, no we won't
Let the cold and dark get us down, we're sold
On staying cheerful, spending, drinking, old
Fears swallowed as we approach end of year
Become bohemian before we repent
Once again, endure January's sheer
Cold, penniless, but at least light appears
Slowly with hopes of improvement

2245 - Painting the roadside

Had very bad neck when I woke in bed
I couldn't comfortably lie on my side
And on my back was painful, too - my head
Had to be the right angle. I was wide
Awake at various points. Was early light
Because the clocks went back - always a shame
All of a sudden, tea-time is at night
Hired a car, drove to Swettenham in the rain
'S'wet in Swettenham' I caught myself sayin'
Took Josie to the Black Swan, where we had
Fish and chips near a blazing fireside
Autumn leaves also blazed, the Cheshire plain
Lovely perhaps for the last weekend, red
And yellow and green, painting the roadside

2214 - Cool cool water

It's gloomy and dark again - it seems like
The only good weather we had was when
The Olympics was on. Those racing bikes
Usain bolting down the track - gold again
Not surprisingly, with all this damned rain
Rivers have burst their banks, towns are deluged
York and Morpeth, Northwich, as water drains
Down from higher ground. Towns with no refuge
But sandbags stoically waiting for huge
Torrents that tonight may or may not strike
Their homes and businesses. People swept in
The raging waters, found lying in sludge
They'd tried to save their dog. But there's a hike
This Saturday in temperature and sun!

2210 - Key to the strings of my heart

The dark nights are drawing in - wish I had
A drawing room to draw them in, but all
I've got is a tiny living room, bad
If you're a pianist, but I'm not. Haul
A baby grand up the stairs? Laughable
No, I need money, room, but I have space
Of one kind, reliably - personal
I'd hit the wrong key anyway, misplace
My fingers, even heart, which beats its pace
To a rock or dance tune. This is no fad
A guitar fits in here though, lovable
Partner, not quiet, not hard to replace
But a thing of beauty - we are solid
As a rock, we are cute, we rock and roll

2172 - Hungry but happy

Hey, days off work are great, like retirement
Come early, when you're still younger and fit
Because I've still got a lot of leave left
I can take two days off a week til it
Gets too autumnal, darkness and that shit
Today I read 'The Corrections' and wrote
Some new song lyrics, continuing to hit
That road in a new direction, the road
To happiness, and we must not forget
It's the journey that counts with contentment
Not the arrival. Cliche, hit the spot!
It's a wonderful life, and you can't tempt
Me with religion, disillusionment
With life's definitely not where it's at!

1633 - Dark thoughts

Walking through Manchester before the dawn
The 6.33 from Piccadilly
To Glasgow is the train I must get on
As I hurry through dark streets, already
Security guards smoke in a doorway
Shadowy figure makes me feel alarmed
As I pass by his dark narrow alley
My need for speed helps me in keeping warm
Maybe it's tension - it'd be no storm
In a teacup to miss this northbound train
It would be like career hara-kiri
I pull out my mobile to check the time
Fifteen minutes to get to the platform
Thank God for that - looks like I'll be okay

1602 - Across the universe

When we look up to the black sky at night
We see the stars and planets back in time
The moonlight's only one second old light
While sunlight, that's eight minute old sunshine
Eight minutes to reach Earth despite flying
As fast as light can. Alpha Centauri
The next nearest star, is - no point lying -
4.3 years old by the time we see
It from our vantage point. It's history
Look through a telescope at distant sights
Like Andromeda, you're seeing a time
When man was still evolving, odysseys
Still to come. What we see further out might
No longer exist. The whole thing's dying...

1520 - The things we do for poetry

I'm sitting in the Crown pub, Liverpool
This rainy and dark November evening
I need to sit back , for the day was full
Of deliberation at the meeting
That has just finished and was quite taxing
As tax often is. Fish and chips all gone
Fingers crossed I don't get food poisoning
No reason why I should; it tasted fine
But the carpet in here looks very worn
And the tables are sticky, some with pools
Of beer. I'm here by way of time passing
There's three dark wet hours to pass til it's time
For 'Liver Bards' poetry group, where fools
And wise men stand and read out their scribblings
Tue 2 Nov

1509 - Staying in the frying pan

I'd make you an omelette but there's no you
So I'll eat it instead - how about that?
I'll make it with cheese and mushrooms, imbue
It with some flavour, stop it going flat
By shaking the pan, cover it in fat
No, vegetable oil, I mean. Hunger
Is growing as I write this on my pad
It's a hunger that will soon be over
Well, maybe for an hour or two, till the
Daylight returns, when it all starts anew
I could do with somebody in this flat
Sometimes, but most of the time I don't care
It's me time until 2022
Who cares if that makes me a selfish tw*t!
Fri 22 Oct

1490 - Not so sunny Sunday

I’m writing this in total peace and quiet
Well, it’s quite quiet, apart from a noisy
Dog outside. Got a new Wilson Pickett
CD to play, and then I think I’ll see
‘Control’ with the director’s commentary
On DVD. Then, Match of the Day 2
Liverpool lost at home to Blackpool! The
Ryder Cup golf has mainly made the news
Because of heavy rainfall. Play lasts through
Monday, having to finish a day late
The Commonwealth Games began in Delhi
It’s dark by seven now, and that tells you
To close curtains, turn heat on for comfort
But I’ll hope for some Greek sun from Tuesday

1471 - Man in the tree

I saw my shadowed head against the tree
In the dark night, by kitchen light backlit
As I stood smoking on the balcony
A magnified dark head that seemed to sit
Among the leaves and branches. I moved it
From side to side to check that it was mine
But it wasn’t mine; more like the spirit
Of the tree, revealed by the magic shine
Of a long life bulb; transported in time
Back to some pagan Bronze Age century
A god reborn, its one leg and arms knit
Into a sentient being, tall and fine
Green and brown sentinel, security
Watching over this patch I inhabit

1247 - The midnight singer

The mystery of the midnight singer
Two floors below, his bass voice booming out
At 4, 5, 6 or 7, he rocks the
Whole four floors of these flats with his flat shout
Causing pausing of forty winks, a rout
Of dreams, four floors of steaming ears, curses
That echo through the walls below, about
Half-four; incomprehensible verses
Have no mercy on neighbours, for mercy’s
For Christians and the state. This foreigner
With the deep sound rebounds from local clout
With boundless disdain, straining harmonies
Between tenants of different races; war
Rages on till the dawn, rest dearly bought

1210 - Thinking about leaving

My last day here at the Irish cottage
Four days of fun, a long music workshop
Shaky Dawg will be rehearsing soonish
I’ll stay for that and then our time will stop
I’ll have to leave West Cork behind and drop
My car into the Irish interior
Where snow and ice have both been deadly dropped
At night, heading ever inland, my car
Occasional spots of light, headlights afar
Appear just as I crest a dark hill road
Disappearing, as down again I drop
Dark red car in the grip of Ireland’s jaw
Emerging as Dublin’s yellow lights flash
Till, by the quayside, the long ride will stop
Sunday 27 December

1200 - The first snow came today

We’re nearly there, c’mon, we’re nearly there
A few more steps, a few more steps to go
Till we're past the shortest time of the year
At this time of year, time passes so slow
Especially with Christmas making it so….
So… I don’t know… just, you know… miserable
Christmas and New Year, happiness and no
Escape. You must be happy, sociable
And pull something, a cracker at table
Yes, that’s the one, her over there, don’t stare
Looks okay on the surface, but below
As I know, there be dragons, be trouble
Be rabid reindeer, foaming mouth, mad stare
Unsanitary claws draw lines in snow

1184 - Dawn of December

December again, welcome the darkness
Before the light, like sleep before the dawn
Like the rejection before the success
Like non-existence before we are born
Like gestating sketches before they’re drawn
Or hunger and thirst as mealtime draws near
Or loneliness until you meet the one
The one that becomes two, then three and four
Before the confidence we go through fear
After the suffering we become blessed
After the sowing of the seed grows corn
After we’ve heard it all we start to hear
From naked beginnings we learn to dress
And the curtains of ignorance are torn